Inside a hospital room shrouded in darkness, a man in a patient gown sat on the edge of a spotless white bed.
Ding—
A system window appeared before him.
System / gud moring.
The greeting was riddled with spelling and spacing mistakes, making the man's brow furrow.
'What is it plotting...?'
Normally, the System never spoke to humans.
It only displayed information that was absolutely necessary—for example, one's own status window.
But with him, things were different.
More precisely, with Seo Munhyeok of this timeline.
Name: Seo Munhyeok
Age: 30
Class: Attack-type / Swordsman
Rank: S
Titles: Ruthless Hero, Wanderer of Samsara (Currently on the 5th Pilgrimage)
.
.
.
His gaze locked onto the final title.
(Currently on the 5th Pilgrimage)
Seo Munhyeok was the hero acknowledged by the System.
He had died four times already, each time returning to the past to begin again.
This was his fifth life.
In other words...
He was a Returner.
He possessed detailed knowledge of every major event that would unfold over the coming years.
But...
'The future has changed.'
It had never happened before.
Never had the future twisted without his direct intervention.
...Though perhaps he couldn't really call it the first time anymore.
The System itself had changed.
System / lol u mad^^
The System mocked him.
Regardless, his confusion remained.
With a dismissive wave of his hand, Seo Munhyeok scattered the floating message and retraced recent events.
The Gate that had appeared out of nowhere.
The crimson Dragon that emerged from it.
And the mysterious man who had turned what should have been a hopeless battle into victory.
'The Aberrant Gate and Dragons weren't supposed to appear for years.'
Aberrant Gates swallowed everything nearby the instant they appeared before sealing themselves shut.
According to his memories, the first one wouldn't emerge for another year.
The Dragon was the same.
The first Dragon-class boss monster wasn't supposed to appear until roughly three years later.
'Why? Where did things start changing?'
His expression stiffened.
As he searched for the point where history had diverged, his thoughts naturally returned to the battle.
'Don't strike there.'
'Wait until it inhales. Aim inside.'
'Now!'
The one who troubled him most was that nameless stranger.
Seo Munhyeok recalled the exact moment the man had entered the fight.
'He should have been dead.'
He hadn't confirmed it personally, but aside from himself, there had been no survivors in the Dragon's nest.
Yet precisely when he had needed help most...
...that man had awakened and saved him.
The mysterious stranger had identified the Dragon's species at a glance.
He had even known exactly how to kill it.
Even though Dragons had never appeared during this timeline, he had calmly employed knowledge that even Seo Munhyeok himself did not possess.
'Who are you?'
Could he be another Returner?
Whatever the answer...
He certainly wasn't ordinary.
The information he possessed surpassed Seo Munhyeok's own knowledge.
'I'm probably alive because of him.'
He had unquestionably suffered fatal wounds.
Immediately after delivering the killing blow to the Dragon...
...his injuries had finally overwhelmed him.
As darkness claimed his vision, he had been certain this life was over.
He had even thought that next time he would need to prepare for unforeseen incidents like this one.
Yet...
He hadn't died.
When he awoke, he was lying in a Hunter hospital room.
The hole the Dragon had torn through his chest had healed completely, leaving behind only a pale white scar.
The rest of his injuries had recovered as well.
'And this mana...'
Something else was strange.
After regaining consciousness, his Mana stat had skyrocketed.
Mana: 99
Originally, his Mana stat had been only 27.
He was a swordsman, not a mage.
At this point in his life, there had been no reason to invest in Mana.
Yet after losing consciousness...
...only that single stat had risen.
To 99.
Across countless lifetimes of training, even Seo Munhyeok had never once seen such a number.
There were other abnormalities as well.
His eyes had somehow become crimson.
And the heartbeat coming from his chest felt unnaturally slow.
'He definitely did something to me.'
He needed to discover exactly who that man was...
...and exactly what he had done.
System / Find. Him. Noww.
The System practically urged him onward.
After a long moment of thought, Seo Munhyeok finally picked up his phone.
Tap.
Tap tap.
His fingers dialed a number from memory.
The direct line to the Goblin Information Broker.
In this timeline, the broker had not yet become famous.
"...Hello? Who is this?"
After several rings, an androgynous voice answered.
Ignoring the caution in the other's tone, Seo Munhyeok immediately stated his purpose.
“I'd like to find someone. I only know what he looks like. Can you do it?”
The man who had saved him.
The man who had brought him back to life.
The variable that had appeared in his destiny for the first time in five lifetimes.
"...Where did this suddenly come from?"
“I'll pay whatever fee you ask.”
"...Yes. That's possible. Please describe the person's appearance.”
A faint smile slowly spread across Seo Munhyeok's lips.
* * *
Three days had passed since Haran arrived on Earth.
Whether those three days were short or long depended on one's perspective.
During that time...
...Pyo Haram's memories had stolen control of the body from him twice.
'U-Uncle! Your nose! You're bleeding!'
'Ah... U-Uncle's... fine. You need... to go... to kindergarten. I'll make breakfast first...'
The first time had happened the very next morning after becoming Pyo Haram.
Sua had shaken him awake because she needed to leave for kindergarten.
At first, Haran thought the dizziness came from lack of sleep.
Then pain shot through his nose.
Blood poured out.
At the same time...
...old memories flooded his mind.
A crying baby that wouldn't stop screaming.
Pyo Haram shouting for the child to stop crying.
Then regaining his senses, apologizing...
...and crying together with the baby.
Sua begging him to come to kindergarten's parent observation day.
Pyo Haram refusing because he had to work.
Watching the bright smile on her face slowly turn into disappointment.
Another memory.
A dungeon raid lasting two days longer than expected.
The kindergarten teacher gently suggesting that Sua might be better off living in an orphanage.
Pyo Haram listening helplessly...
...unable to say a word.
He loved Sua.
But sometimes she exhausted him.
Sometimes...
...he even thought of her as a burden forced upon his life.
Perhaps because of that...
Every memory carried overwhelming guilt whenever he looked at her.
That was likely why.
Those scattered fragments alone had been enough for Pyo Haram's body to seize control.
Even with blood streaming from his nose...
...he had insisted on cooking ramen so the little girl could eat first.
'At least I learned how to make fire without magic...'
Haran frowned.
As he reached up to rake a hand through his hair...
...he suddenly noticed his palm was covered in blood.
“Ah.”
The second time he had lost control...
...had been only moments ago.
Again, the memories hadn't been particularly important.
Nor had there been many of them.
Memories of failing interviews at small guilds.
Memories of rain leaking into the house during monsoon season, forcing him to mop the floor all night.
Memories of entering dangerous dungeons simply because he desperately needed money.
Nothing remarkable.
Just insignificant pieces of someone else's life.
Yet this time...
...it hadn't ended with a simple nosebleed.
His chest had suddenly tightened.
Then blood had surged up his throat.
While vomiting blood...
...Pyo Haram had calmly washed the pile of dirty dishes.
Folded the blankets that had been left lying around for three days.
Finally opened the window to air out the room.
Only then...
...had Haran regained control.
“Damn it...”
His gaze fell upon the old blanket stained with his own blood.
The bloody handprints smeared across the window.
The sink.
His expression twisted violently.
He wiped the damp blood from his mouth with his sleeve before clenching his fist.
He tried to act composed.
But his shoulders trembled uncontrollably.
'I can't keep living like this.'
Rage boiled inside him.
There weren't many choices left.
He could do nothing...
...and wait until Pyo Haram completely took over.
He could abandon every remaining attachment to life...
...and simply die.
Or...
...he could find the nameless man carrying the Dragon Heart...
...and take back what rightfully belonged to him.
'I like that last option best.'
The problem...
...was finding him.
Haran searched his memories, recalling the man he'd seen inside the Dragon's nest.
'That bastard who stole my Dragon Heart!'
Technically...
Haran had placed the Dragon Heart into the man's chest with his own hands.
But after three days of constant fear, exhaustion, and mental collapse...
...he was no longer thinking rationally.
One might even say...
...the Great Archmage was in a severely impaired mental state.
Knock.
Someone came to visit the mentally exhausted Great Archmage.
The timing couldn't have been worse.
For either of them.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The knocking continued despite being ignored.
Haran forced himself to stop thinking.
He slowly turned toward the front door.
Irritation...
...and unmistakable madness...
...filled his eyes.
His footsteps thundered across the floor.
He yanked the door open.
“Which bastard keeps making all that noise?!”
“…Mr. Pyo Haram?”
“…Huh?”
There was a saying in Korea.
Speak of the tiger, and the tiger appears.
Standing outside the wide-open door...
...was the tiger.
Haran frowned deeply before jabbing a finger toward the visitor.
“Y-You Dragon Heart thief!”
The one standing at the door of the mentally unstable Great Archmage suffering from full-blown paranoia...
...was none other than Seo Munhyeok.
The man who had survived...
...with Haran's Dragon Heart beating inside his chest.